


Pending Approval

by Sun_Moon_Stars_Jedi



Series: Vignettes from the Harper-Todd Household [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics)
Genre: Cute Lian Harper, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Jade Nguyen Is A Good Mom, Jason Todd Deserves Happiness, M/M, Step-Parent Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27052825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sun_Moon_Stars_Jedi/pseuds/Sun_Moon_Stars_Jedi
Summary: Being a new step-parent comes with many hurdles.One of them is the approval of the other parent, especially if that other parent is a trained assassin.
Relationships: Roy Harper/Jason Todd
Series: Vignettes from the Harper-Todd Household [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1973860
Comments: 16
Kudos: 284





	Pending Approval

Jason is at the weekly market, comparing two pumpkins to find the perfect one for Lian to carve into a Jack-o-Lantern, when he feels it - the hair on his neck standing up in warning, the crawling sensation under his skin, the sudden jolt running through his system telling him that he is being watched.

Jason has relied on his instincts to keep him alive longer than he can think, had trusted them while he was a homeless kid to tell him which guys he should stay away from, had honed them under the tutelage of Bruce, had lived by them while he was with the League, and now he knows to listen to them when they are screaming that someone is watching him.

Jason is experienced enough not to give away that he has caught onto his stalker and casually continues to examine the pumpkins until he deems one better and puts the other one back. He makes his purchase, exchanges a few pleasantries with the vendor and then turns to head back towards the street.

While he does so his mind is cataloguing every person around him, scrutinizing everyone for the tell-tale signs of a secret operative, anything distinctive that gives them away. He doesn’t spot anyone, can’t find any suspicious shadows on the roofs or in neighbouring buildings, but the insistent feeling that there is _something_ watching him stays.

The fact that he can’t identify whoever it is that is watching him increases his concern, because that means they are good…really, really good. Paparazzi stalking Jason Todd, the famously ‘resurrected’ son of Bruce Wayne, are never that skilled, which means whoever it is is most likely following the Red Hood. And shit, if his cover has been blown, that could spell disaster not only for him, but also Roy and Lian, every Bat and Bird in Gotham, the Arrows in Star City…everyone he is close to basically.

He has to find out who is after him and how much they know.

Jason makes his way down the street walking at an even pace, still scanning his surroundings. He hadn’t taken his bike or the car - the market wasn’t really that far from their apartment and he had wanted to enjoy the last sunshine Gotham would most likely get before winter.

As he makes his way away from the bustling shopping district the streets become less crowded. He still can’t spot anyone, so three blocks away from home he turns from the main street onto a shoddy little alley that leads in the wrong direction. Jason isn’t stupid enough to lead someone straight home to his boyfriend and step-daughter. The alley also isn’t as open as the street, so whoever is following him will have to come closer or risk losing him, which gives Jason the chance to spot them.

He is nearly through the alley and still hasn’t caught a glimpse of his stalker, starting to consider whether he should call for backup or at least let Roy know that he won’t be coming home for a while if he can’t get this sorted soon, when he finally sees it.

A shadow moves across the roofs on his left side and that is all the warning Jason gets before projectiles hiss in his direction. He drops down and rolls behind a large garbage container on instinct, expecting the sound of bullets impacting the wall where he just stood, but instead there is only a soft metallic plink.

Confused, he allows himself the briefest moment to study the projectiles, still crouched behind the container. On the floor he sees two tranquilizer darts, and somewhere in his mind dots are starting to connect, but he doesn’t have the time to really consider what this means because in that moment he hears the faintest whisper, telling him that the shadow has come down from its lofty perch and joined him on the alley floor.

Dumb move, Jason thinks, grinning.

He might have been at a disadvantage in a fight across the distance without his guns, but in close combat very few people can take him on, even when he is wearing civilian clothes and no armor. Street brawls are just in his blood.

Jason cautiously looks around his cover, and now that the figure that has been following him is on his level, he can at least tell that it is a woman. She is dressed all in black, her face hidden behind a mask, and Jason can’t make out any discernible markings that would affiliate her with any of the numerous enemies he has. 

No matter who she is, if she wants a fight, Jason will give her one.

The woman still holds the tranq gun in one hand, but other than that she seems to be unarmed, so Jason’s first priority is getting rid of that. Without any more hesitation Jason bolts out from his hiding spot, barrelling straight at her.

She points the gun right at him, squeezing the trigger several times, but Jason was prepared for that, holding the pumpkin up like a shield. The darts harmlessly embed themselves in the fruit and then Jason throws the whole thing at her, knocking the gun out of her hand.

It clatters to the floor and maybe Jason should be concerned about the totally at ease stance his opponent has even after he disarmed her, but then he is already in hand-to-hand range, throwing the first punch.

She glides out of the way easily.

Jason obviously has the height and weight advantage but she is quicker and more flexible. The following minutes are a flurry of punches, grapples, kicks and throws, both of them obviously highly trained, both of them giving the other no quarter in the fight.

Jason is panting hard, feels his ribs ache and his right cheek sting where he hadn’t been able to dodge her attacks in time, but his opponent is also winded where she crouches a few feet away from him, one arm cradled protectively against her chest due to a bad sprain, her ribs just as bruised going by the harsh breaths she’s pulling in.

If this wasn’t a fight in some alley against a person Jason doesn’t know, he would have said he was having a fun time. It wasn’t often that he met someone who could give him a run for his money in a good fight outside of his family and team members. He also has the feeling that the mystery woman isn’t really intending to hurt him, this whole thing feels more like a dance, a test of skill maybe, than a vicious attempt on his life.

They’re eyeing each other, both looking for an opportunity to come out on top, and Jason can tell what his opponent is planning a split second before she does it. That gives him an advantage and he manages to twist out of the way of her attempt to sweep his legs out from under him, instead uses her unbalanced stance to finally topple her over and pin her to the ground.

She doesn’t even attempt to get free, simply raises one hand and taps against his arm like she is tapping out of a spar.

His confusion must be clearly visible on his face because a laugh sounds from behind the mask.

“You can let me up now, Todd. Or do you enjoy pinning strange women to the floor? Maybe I should tell Roy…”

Her tone is amused, her last words playful even, and Jason lets her go and sits back up when recognition slots into place in his mind.

“Jade?”

She takes off her mask to reveal a smile that matches her codename and Jason flounders for a moment because what the hell is going on? He can’t think of any reason for Roy’s ex to attack him, neither personal nor professional.

The last time they had seen each other had been when she visited Lian a few months ago. Granted, they weren’t really friends - Jason was never really sure what he should talk about with the mother of his boyfriend’s daughter who was also an active assassin – but they had shared a coffee and a few jokes about Roy’s atrocious fashion sense when she had dropped Lian back of. 

How in the name of fuck had they gone from there to an ambush in a deserted alley?

“What the fuck, Jade?” Jason exclaims once he finds his voice again as he gets up from the filthy floor, wincing at the way his newly developing bruises are already twinging. “Would you explain to me why you just tried to kill me?”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” she says, also getting up, “I didn’t try to kill you.”

“Then what was this?”

“A test,” Jade says coolly and Jason can feel his eyes twitch in irritation.

“A test?” he asks and when she doesn’t say anything else, only watches him with those dark eyes that are so similar to Lian’s, he huffs out, “care to elaborate on that?”

She continues to watch him for a few more seconds, studying him, before she finally nods slightly to herself as if making a decision.

“You moved in with Roy and my daughter,” she begins, her tone absolutely serious now, “if you are going to be a permanent part of her life I need to know that you can keep her safe.”

Jason softens slightly at those words, because, while her way of showing it might be unconventional, he does know that Jade truly loves Lian, and in a way he understands her concern. Still, attacking him in some random alleyway…

“You know I can fight,” Jason sighs, not unfriendly.

“You don’t have your guns and armor when you are with Lian, so I needed to make sure you still know how to fight without them.”

Jason should feel insulted at the implication behind those words, but he really can’t. A little voice in his head that sounds eerily like Bruce even commends Jade on her thoroughness, that no small detail should be left to chance where the safety of your child is concerned. That voice has been popping up in his head more and more since he moved in with Roy a month ago and really started to think about Lian as his responsibility, which is kind of creepy, but Jason had chalked it up to new step-parent jitters.

“So, did I pass?” he asks even though he already knows the answer.

There is no way Jade would have even told him the truth if he hadn’t. She would have most likely just left him in the alley and made her way straight to Roy to tell him she didn’t want Jason around her daughter anymore.

“You did,” she says, “even though I would not classify throwing a pumpkin as very impressive technique.”

Jason barks out a laugh and shrugs his shoulders.

“Hey, that’s what I call creative use of every tool at hand. And it worked, didn’t it?”

She inclines her head in agreement and Jason can see the amusement sparkle in her eyes.

“But now I need a new pumpkin,” Jason says with a sigh, eying the split open mess on the alley floor. “Lian was really looking forward to carving one.”

“I can get one,” Jade offers and Jason wants to tell her it’s fine, he can just swing by the market again, but there is something in her expression that stops him. She’ll get to see Lian if she comes by their apartment and the longing in her eyes makes it clear as day how much she wants that. “Consider it my way of making up for those bruises.”

“Sure,” Jason says easily. And because he knows how much it will mean to Lian he offers, “why don’t you stay for dinner tonight?”

The answering smile from Jade is nothing like her previous Cheshire one, just pure happiness and even a little gratitude if Jason reads her correctly.

Then, without another word, she vanishes back into the shadows.

“Freaking assassins,” Jason mutters good naturedly, dusting himself off half-heartedly before finally making his way home.

“Jay?” Roy’s voice already calls out from the living room before Jason even closes the door and seconds later the quick pitter-patter of small feet announces Lian sprinting his way.

“Jayjay!” she squeals when she rounds the corner and Jason is still getting used to the excitement the four-year-old displays each time he comes home but he can’t deny that it makes warmth fill his chest and his heart melt every time.

“Hello princess,” he calls back, slipping of his boots. They don’t have a butler who cleans up after them if they track mud across the carpets, after all.

“Jayjay, your clothes are all dirty. Did you fall down?”

Big, concerned eyes look up at him and Jason is fast to ruffle Lian’s hair and smile reassuringly at her.

“I did, but everything’s fine. It’s just a bit of mud.”

Lian eyes him critically but seems to come to the conclusion that he really is fine, so she simply nods at him.

“You should be more careful, then. Daddy and I would be really sad if you got hurt.”

The lump that’s suddenly in Jason’s throat prevents him from answering, so he crouches down and hugs the little girl instead.

“Eww, you’re getting me all dirty,” she laughs, pushing him away with her little hands.

“Sorry, princess.”

“Go wash, then we can hug,” she says, little face determined as she points to the bathroom.

Jason gives her a little salute, making Lian giggle, and then she skips back into the living room. As he looks up after her Jason’s eyes meet Roy’s where his boyfriend is standing a few feet away, eyebrows scrunched up in concern. Jason nods towards the bathroom as he gets up and Roy follows him without question, closing the door behind them so Lian can’t hear their conversation from the other room.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Roy asks the second they are inside, one hand already cupping Jason’s bruised cheek, the other pushing his jacket out of the way to check for injuries.

“I’m fine,” Jason says calmly, reaching for both of Roy’s hands and stopping their frantic search with his grasp. “Just a few bruises, nothing to worry about.”

Roy looks intently at him for a few seconds. When he seems assured that Jason is telling the truth his whole posture relaxes, a tense breath leaving him as his shoulders visibly drop.

“Okay,” Roy says, relief written all over his face. “Okay, you’re fine. But what happened, Jay? You just went to the market.”

“Jade wanted to have a chat.”

Roy’s eyebrows shoot up and his mouth twists in a complicated manner that is definitely unhappy, while there is both shock and outrage in his eyes, so Jason quickly goes on to explain further.

“She wanted to see if I was able to protect Lian and went with the hands on approach on testing that. It’s fine, we both have a few more bruises, but now I have her seal of approval, so everything is good. Was even kind of fun.”

Roy’s expression turns from wary to amused and at that final line he quirks an eyebrow at him. His eyes once again look Jason over, but this time there isn’t the urgency of making sure he’s not bleeding out colouring that action. Jason thinks he is most likely simply trying to work out how exactly the confrontation went.

“Did you two fight in the park or something? You’re absolutely filthy, ” Roy finally comments, nodding towards the numerous stains Jason is covered in as he meets Jason’s gaze once more.

Jason huffs.

“You try keeping your clothes clean when an assassin has you in a headlock. It’s fall, there was mud, I didn’t really worry about that.”

Instead of an answering quip like Jason expects Roy stays silent, his eyes taking on a far away, glassy look that Jason knows very well.

“You’re picturing Jade and me mud wrestling without clothes now, aren’t you?”

“No,” Roy shoots back, but the grin he can’t seem to stop spells out “Yes.”

Jason lets out a long-suffering sigh and Roy’s grin only gets bigger.

“Okay, I was. But can you blame a guy? That would be unbelievably hot.”

Jason rolls his eyes but lets Roy pull him into a slow kiss. When they come back up for air the redhead is smiling much softer at him and Jason feels an answering curve on his lips. 

“For now though you should clean up,” Roy says humour dancing in his eyes as he wrinkles his nose, “you stink.”

“You just want to get me naked, Harper.”

“If you’re offering…” Roy prompts, leaning back a little to give Jason room.

He starts to slide his jacket off tracking the way Roy’s eyes eagerly follow the slow movement, but before Jason has even taken off the first piece of clothing the sound of small footsteps running through the hallway has both of them looking at the door.

“Daddy, Jayjay” Lian shouts excitedly, “I drew a dog, like Titus.”

She is holding up the painting when she bursts though the door and both Jason and Roy dutifully voice their amazement at her pretty picture.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Roy coaxes, steering Lian out of the room. “We’ll hang this up on the fridge and let Jayjay clean up.”

“Roy,” Jason calls before Roy closes the door behind him. Lian is already halfway to the kitchen, but Jason still lowers his voice so she can’t hear. “I invited Jade for dinner. That’s okay, right?”

“Of course,” Roy says, “Lian will be thrilled.”

Jason takes a quick shower and once he is wearing fresh clothes starts preparing dinner. It might still be very early, but if they have a guest over he wants to dish out something special. He might not need Jade’s approval - if Roy deems him worthy of being a part of his daughter's life that is more than he could have ever asked for - but it still felt nice that she gave it.

Lian might be like a daughter to him, but he would never want to push Jade out of her life; not unless she did something that would make such an extreme action necessary. And even if Jade might not be a good person by conventional standards (and who is Jason to judge, he wouldn’t be considered good by most standards either), there is absolutely no doubt in Jason’s mind that she loves her daughter. Jason has seen enough accidentally conceived children in his life to know that that isn’t always the case; hell, he had lived it himself.

When Jade comes by Lian is ecstatic and the picture-perfect pumpkin she brings with her only makes the little girl happier. Lian shows Jade all the new toys she has gotten since she last visited, her drawings, her first practice bow. They are all roped into several rounds of Go Fish! and if someone had told Jason a few years ago that one of the best evenings of his life would be spent watching his boyfriend pout while his daughter and her mother giggle madly over a card game for kids, he would have declared them delusional and sent them to Arkham.

At dinner Lian chatters excitedly the whole time and Jade is hanging onto every word she says, barely taking her eyes of her daughter. When it is finally time for Lian to go to bed she demands bedtime kisses from all three of them and something goes tight in Jason’s chest at the way Lian makes no difference between him and her actual parents.

Once the little girl is finally asleep the three of them find themselves in the kitchen. Jason would have expected the situation to be awkward, or maybe that he would feel like a third-wheel, but that isn’t the case.

They all have a steaming mug of tea in their hands and the conversation has mellowed into a comfortable silence. Jason hasn’t even noticed that he is leaning against Roy until his boyfriend shifts to put an arm around his waist.

“You really love Lian,” Jade says, voice low and sombre when she finally breaks the quiet.

“I do. Like she is my own.” Jason’s tone is just as serious. “I would die before I let any harm come to her.”

Roy’s arm squeezes tighter around him but Jason holds Jade’s gaze, needing her to understand how honest these words are. Finally she nods before getting up from her chair and stepping close to them.

Jason doesn’t expect the kiss on the cheek, but he hadn’t expected a lot of things that took place on this day. Jade leans over to Roy, whispers something in his ear that makes Roy stare at her for a few moments in what seems to be wonderment. Then she also kisses him on the cheek without another word and quietly slips out the front door.

“Come on,” Roy eventually says, taking Jason’s mug out of his hands and placing it on the counter. “I wanna take you to bed.”

The words are oddly formal but Jason can still feel his pulse pick up and lets Roy lead him to the bedroom. Once they are lying in bed, undressing each other much more slowly than most other times, Roy suddenly stops, looking down into Jason’s eyes intently from his position braced over him.

“Do you want to know what Jade said?”

Jason isn’t one to pry, but the way in which Roy asks, the strange expression on his face after Jade had whispered to him, has him nodding without even thinking about it.

“She said I shouldn’t fuck this up,” Roy says, still holding his gaze, “because she could see I had finally found the missing piece of my soul."

Jason isn’t sure if he even believes in something like a soul, but the way Roy makes him feel whole, how they fit together from the very beginning, how Jason yearns for his touch and longs for his voice seconds after they part because being apart from Roy hurts somewhere deep inside him…maybe there is such a thing as a soulmate.

And, Jason thinks, leaning up to drag Roy into a deep kiss that will hopefully last forever, they were just lucky enough to find each other.

**Author's Note:**

> I just love to write family fluff, especially for JayRoy.  
> Hope you enjoyed it =D
> 
> Come by for a chat on [Tumblr](https://sun-moon-stars-jedi.tumblr.com/).


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